Fiore's Sword and Shield
by purpleicecreamxoxo
Summary: Laxus has learned much on his journey of self-discovery but feels like there is something still missing. His chance meeting with the Paladin of Fiore might be just what he needs to stay on that path of light and find just what he is missing.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the classic creatures used from D&D.

Word Count: 6,011

* * *

Laxus Dreyar was a prideful man. While not as arrogant and prideful as he once was after the Battle of Fairy Tail, he still had a semblance of pride. It was because of this pride that he refused to admit to anyone, even himself, that he was completely and utterly lost in this damn forest. He had zoned out while reflecting on the past few months and what lessons he learned on this road of self-discovery.

Time away from the only world he ever knew had given him a different perspective not only on life but the beliefs he once held. His arrogance and pride had led him down a dark place fueled by anger. He truly believed that he could stop the whispering voices from insulting the guild and acknowledging him as his own person and how just someone's son or grandson. All of those dark feelings had clouded the beliefs his grandfather had once taught him from years long passed. Fairy Tail wasn't a place where the strongest prevailed, but where members can rely on one another for that strength. Everyone had come from a place of darkness and Fairy Tail had offer them a chance to see and feel the light, something Laxus wished he knew before. He had been blessed with probably the best Gramps and a great opportunity to grow in one of the strongest light guilds, despite being so ill. The guild was more of a family to one another compared to what he and his father had, a toxic and almost abusive relationship. With a clear mind and new lease on life, Laxus realized that there were other options, different ways, to make the guild strong, such as training members in what they lacked, such as hand-to-hand combat or strength training. He could have learned some patience and ignored the taunting voices around him. He should have learned the difference between blood relation and family, that bloodties don't always mean everything. He could of learned to let go of the past and look towards the future. He should have trusted and believed in his nakama. There were many things that he could have done but it was past the times of 'could have' and 'should have'.

By the time he finished his reflection, his mind finally caught up with what his eyes were seeing. Laxus was on his way to Alfield, a small open farm village he and the Thunder Legion once visited in passing. With open fields towards the south, the village was flanked by clusters of trees east and northward. A small river ran through the open fields. The reason for his visit was to experience the Hazel Festival. The festival marked the coming of fall and paid respect to the years harvest. Evergreen had always nagged them about not staying for the festival when they passed by since the village was decorated with fall flowers and various stalls of food and games. Laxus thought he could make up to Ever by experiencing it himself and sharing the experience if he ever came back to Fairy Tail.

Currently, the lightning dragon slayer was surrounded by dead flora and almost barren trees. Before zoning out, he was walking a small dirt path with very much alive flora and full trees and wooden fencing along the road that marked the way Alfield. He was pretty sure that it was supposed to be around the afternoon too. Just how long was he in deep thought? There was something off about this path. When traveling through nature, one would typically hear the wind, nearby animals, or even a running brook. Laxus heard none of that. There were no birds and the wind felt almost stale. Walking with caution further into the forest, Laxus caught several faint scents of other humans several feet ahead pass the dead bushes and trees. His grip on the strings of his duffle bag tightened before passing the flora. He was hoping to avoid any trouble on his way to the village but the eeriness of the land didn't sit right with him.

The sight he saw was not one he was expecting. Something had to be wrong with his nose because he only identify several human scents a few feet ago. In front of him was roughly ten to fifteen families huddling together, roughly about fifty people. The women and children were huddled together while the men were holding what appeared to be farming tools. Their focus had been on the dirt road ahead of them but had changed to Laxus once he came into the clearing.

"Stop where you are!" One of the men screamed, pointing his pitchfork towards the dragon slayer. Heeding the demand, Laxus stopped but did nothing else.

"Are you with one of those things?"

"Are you here to kidnap us too?"

"You're not going to get us! Just wait until the Paladin finds us!" Laxus couldn't get a word in as the men with their farming tools started to inch closer. Things? Kidnap? Paladin? He knew he could easily defeat the group but the smell of fear was strong in the air. One woman stood up from the huddled of woman and children and placed her hand on the should of the first man.

"Harold! I don't think he's with them. He doesn't even look like them!" Her words gave pause to the approaching men. After a few seconds of silence, the men looked less tense and lowered their tools.

"What the hell is going on?" Laxus asked the group, both out of curiosity and concern. Something serious must have happened to force a group this large out of their homes. The man he knew as Harold thanks to that lady was the one to answer him.

"I'm sorry for the hostilities. It's just you came at the wrong time." The man had turned his head slightly to the direction he had previously been paying attention to before Laxus had stepped into the clearing. "Our village is currently under attack and we were evacuated from it about an hour ago with no sign that the coast is clear yet." A few seconds of silence settled over the group before an older man chimed in.

"You see, we've been having disappearances for nearly a year. First it was just one or two people a month but then they were disappearing in larger groups."

"Why not hire a wizarding guild to help find the missing people?" With the alarming amount of people missing, Laxus was sure that someone from a neighboring guild was sure to take the job. For sure if the request had been placed at Fairy Tail, Team Natsu would probably be all over the job.

"We are just a poor farming village son." Laxus' eye twitched at the nickname but held his tongue. Now was not the time for his father issues. "A request like that would cost us jewels that we do not have. The kidnappings had increased significantly by the time we could even try to raise that amount. Not to mention that's when the night attacks began."

"They were creatures we've never seen before." A young male teen whispered from beside the old man. "They only came out at the night but they always came in a large group."

"The ones in charged called themselves the Illithid. Nasty looking things. They got a humanoid body but there was no way in heck they were humans. Their heads were kinda like an octopus with four tentacles surrounding mouth. Had these long reddish fingers that were missing a middle finger." Harold described the creature the best he could. "There were several of those bastards. They also had these hulking giants with jutting jaws, a big head, and hulking muscles. For every one of the octopus bastards, there were at least one or two following one."

Laxus had travelled a good portion of Fiore before his excommunication and in all those travels, he had never encountered a creature that would fit the description Harold had provided. What worried him the most was exactly how many of these creatures existed. If each of these illithid monsters had one or two followers, their numbers could possibly be in triple digits. If they were abducting and attacking a small village, what did this mean for the rest of the country?

"Did they say what they wanted?" He needed details in order to come up with some kind of battle plan to help them. The dragon slayer had learned his lesson about humility and dignity. If they needed help, he would answer their call. That's what a mage from Fairy Tail would do.

"They wanted to turn the village into a breeding ground, called us livestock. Had some kind of security perimeter set up around the village to keep us from running. Threatened to kill the ones they abducted if we tried to escape. The octopus bastards would take a group of us during the night once a week and we haven't heard from our people since. There's no way of getting out of the village with those ugly hulking beasts roaming the forests." A few sobs could be heard coming from the huddle of women and children. Several of the men left the defensive circle to comfort them.

Laxus took this moment to gather the information given. People had been kidnapped for the past year in large quantities and only recently did the kidnappers show up with their demands. It was possible that those that were kidnapped were ok but considering they called the villagers 'livestock' was concerning. If these creatures intended to use the village as a spawning ground they chose a good spot. Alfield was a farming village with a water source, making it sustainable. Taking a look around the group, Laxus took note that no one had any injuries on their person. The men were unharmed but did not look physically fit enough to fight off something like a Vulcan. It didn't make sense. That's when he remembered that Harold mentioned something about a 'Paladin' and being evacuated an hour ago.

There were rumors about a paladin roaming the lands of Fiore but Laxus never believed them. Paladins were 'holy knights' that specialized in divinity magic and fought to drive off the forces of darkness. According to history books, they were considered wiped out after the Dragon King Festival. From what he understood, this 'paladin' was travelling from town to town helping the locals with monsters and dark guilds while avoiding larger cities. The Magic Counsel were trying to track the individual down and were having no luck. The only sign that they were even there was the occasional feathers that marked their path. Whenever they caught hint of them, the rune knights were usually too late and the locals had no interest in helping the knights in tracking down the person. Rumors also addressed the individual as 'Fiore's Paladin', never revealing the gender or identity.

"How did you all escape uninjured? I doubt those monsters you described guarding your village would let you through unscratched." It seemed like Harold was going to respond to his question but the woman from earlier that defended him answered.

"She came out of nowhere." She tilted her head downward to the child in her arms.

"Tyler was desperate and wanted to go find the missing villagers. His father was taken a few months ago and his mother and sister were taken just last week." A wail of agony came from the young boy as the woman ran her fingers through his hair.

"So he did the only thing he could do and tried making a run through the guards but he didn't make it far before one of them grabbed him. The whole town was corralled to the center and made to watch as those monsters tried to make an example of him." The woman paused in her explanation as she shifted Tyler into a better position on her lap. An elderly woman next to her picked up from where she left off.

"Before they could hurt him, she appeared from the sky and sliced off the creatures arm that was holding little Tyler. It was like our prayers were answered by the gods themselves."

"We had visitors from other villages before being blocked off. They told us how there was a paladin roaming the lands with only feathers marking their path. At first we thought it was something being told to put travellers mind at ease as they went town to town, but when that woman appeared out of nowhere with feathers, we knew that this had to be the paladin."

"She fought off what she could before making a path for us to escape, yelling that she would set off a signal when the coast was clear. We ran about two miles away from everything and haven't heard from her since." Harolds' grip on his pitchfork tightened. "It's possible she's still fighting them. We heard the sound of a war horn being blown as we ran into the forest."

"By the time we reached the edge of the clearing we saw more of those giant creatures rushing to the town. We don't even know how this signal is suppose to even look like." The look of despair and sadness was on each of the villages. They were mourning for their homes, their livelihoods, and especially their missing loved ones. A sigh slipped out from his lips. So much for avoiding trouble. He was basically running in head first into it like a certain flame-brain.

"A dragon made of lightning will shoot out in the sky. That should be bright and large enough to catch your attention." With that, Laxus shot out towards the direction the men were facing earlier with lightning body. Lightning body made two miles look like child's play.

* * *

Reaching the village clearing, Laxus released his lightning body and took in the sight and sounds. A small part of him was irritated because this village was definitely not Alfield. This village was a similar size, if not a bit larger than Alfield, was lacking a river running through the nearby fields, and he would have remembered a leafless, forty foot tree sitting in the middle of the town. There were loud sounds of growls and snarls coming from the center of town. Upon entering the deserted village, the scent of something absolutely purid and blood assaulted his nose. Body pieces of yellow large creatures littered the dirt roads. Laxus came to the conclusion that these were the monsters playing warden to the village. Mixed in with the body pieces were discolored purples and blacks. Upon closer observation, he came to conclude that the purple and black body pieces were the illithid.

The sounds he heard were getting louder and he could now make out the sound of metal clashing and voices.

"Stupid human! Stop moving!" A low, guttural male voice screamed out.

"Standing still would do me no good." A woman's voice echoed like a string of pearly bells through the deserted town. The sound of the male screaming rang out while Laxus' nose was assaulted with a wave of fresh blood.

"Bitch!"

"And? At least I don't fight with all the skills of a trained ape."

"GRAH!"

"I've seen fungi with more charm."

There standing in the middle of town was a large circle composed of both creatures, about eight of the giant creatures and five illithids. The creatures were armed with either a great club with metal spikes or wooden javelins. The illithid lacked a weapon but their hands glowed an eerie purple glow. That's when Laxus saw her, the so called Paladin of Fiore. The woman had long, silky silver hair that was tied in a thick braid accompanied by white feathers. She wore a silver Valkyrie-like suit of armor with golden lining at the heel and top of her greaves. The knees of the greaves and elbows of her gauntlets had a small spike coming out. A sash of white feathers covered her left hip. On her right arm was a round silver shield and she held a double edged sword in her left hand. When his greenish blue eyes met with a strikingly bright sapphire pair, something primal surged through his body.

 _ **Protect.**_

A low, husky voice whispered in Laxus' mind. Before he could even give thought to the command, the woman sprung into action. She ran towards the large creatures whose arm was cut off and proceeded to stab it in the lower abdomen.

"Channel Divinity: Thunderous Smite!" A series of lightning bolts reigned down from the sky striking several nearby creatures as the blade that was embedded in the creature lit up with lightning, effectively electrocuting the beast from within. Once the body fell with a thud, two more of them charged at her. Taking this opportunity to strike, Laxus raise his hand in a punching motion.

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" A large oversized lightning fist shot out towards where the illithid stood. Clearly focused on the woman, they took no notice of Laxus until the attack landed. The attack hit its targets in full force. The two illithid injured screeched back in pain, practically keeling over. Quickly shifting to lightning body, Laxus dashed over to the circle and punched one of the injured illithid with a fist engulfed in lightning. Seeing a new threat, two of the giant-like creatures turned their attention towards him, one running with a raised greatclub while the other threw its' wooden javelin. Sidestepping the javelin, which pierced the chest of the other illithid, Laxus light both of his fists up with lightning before charging in with lightning body.

Teleporting in the face of the one running, Laxus landed two hits on the giants face before zipping behind it to release a series of lightning punches before landing a strong kick to its back, causing it to fly off towards one of the buildings. At this point, the monster that threw the javelin had reached Laxus with its hands clasped together aiming downwards towards him.

"Die stupid human!" Laxus raise his arms up in order to try and block the attack from the nine foot beast when he heard a voice rang out.

"Channel Divinity: Warden!" A white transparent shield surround Laxus. Looking up, once again, greenish blue eyes made contact with sapphire. The woman held a glowing white hand in his direction. The dragon slayer gave the woman a nodded of appreciation, which her returned before their attention was casted on the creature trying to make its way through the barrier.

"I can't hold it forever! There's still a few of them left." The woman shouted as the white glow intensified.

"Take it down. I got this." Laxus made eye contact with hers once more, determination strongly portrayed in his eyes. Unable to argue with him, the woman nodded as she turned her attention to the nearest creature. As the barrier shimmered out of existence, Laxus was prepared to end this.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" A large burst of concentrated lightning and electricity erupted out from the slayer. The damage done by the attack was extensive, destroying large portions of houses in its trajectory. Not only was the creature brought down, but another one of them was caught up in the attack and taken down. A small, nearly unnoticeable smile graced his face. Looks like he hadn't lost his touch since his banishment. The smile quickly disappeared when he remembered that there should be a few more still up and about. However, that didn't seem to be the case.

Standing in the middle of everything, the woman stood victorious with bodies littered around. Her foot rested firmly on top of the chest of one of the last illithids while her bloodsoaked sword was held pointed to its skull.

"I know that you're still connected to the elder brain, mind flayer."

"Then you know you will not get away with this human." The illithid hissed, its voice low and raspy.

"Luckily for me, I had set up runes surrounding the village that interfere with telepathic messages going in and out. Unfortunately for you, there are no reinforcements coming." It hissed out in anger, trying to grasp at her but she just shifted more weight onto its' chest.

"We have more sources of livestock. The colony will flourish and thrive while we feast on the brains of your race." A small laugh passed through her lips at the illithid's words.

"Why do you laugh human? Your -." A grunt of pain stopped it from talking further. She was practically using its' body as a step with the amount of pressure she was using.

"Considering the fact that I've been hunting your specific colony since your arrival in Fiore, I know exactly how far you mind flayers can travel before losing that connection to the elder brain. This was the last town I needed to free before going after your little colony and purging your kind from Fiore."

"Inconceivable! A human like you cann-" The illithid was stopped once more but not from the pressure on its chest. She had stabbed its skull with her sword.

"Enough. I cannot allow your kind to continue to harm the people of Fiore anymore." Taking her foot off of the now dead illithid, she drew her sword from its' skull before flicking it free from the fresh blood.

Laxus couldn't help but stare at the woman in front of him. Despite a hard and difficult fight, her appearance seemed to stay in tack with blood splayed primarily on the breastplate and a few bumps and scratches. Her hair and sash of feathers remained blood free. A streak of blood had dried over her cheek. Upon further examination, he could not smell a hint of her blood spilt meaning that all the blood belonged to the creatures that laid at their feet. She looked radiating with the setting sun glowing through the leafless branches behind her.

"Are you okay?" Her silvery voice snapped him out of his daze.

"I'm fine. What the hell is going on? I got the jist of it from the villagers but it seems like you know more about the situation." The woman's sapphire eyes lingered on Laxus' form before turning attention to the bodies laid strewn behind him. Strapping her sword to her side, the paladin began to kneel down and began to move the bodies of the illithid into a pile.

"Right now we need to burn the bodies. Well, not the ogres, but for sure the mind flayers. If we leave even one of their brains intact, others will come and collect them."

"What's the purpose if they're already dead? What could the living ones possibly use their brains for?" The pile of the newly dubbed mind flayers was growing with every body added. The paladin slowly made her way towards Laxus. As she got closer, the dragon slayer couldn't help but notice details that he would have missed from far away, such as the engravings that were carved in her sword and armor or the way the feathers intertwined within her braid.

"When a mind flayer dies their brain is given to an elder brain. They are considered the heart of a mind flayer colony I guess you can say." She had walked passed him and approached the closest mind flayer, which had collapsed due to Laxus' first attack. Even with his heightened senses, he almost barely registered the swift action of the paladin unsheathing her sword and stabbing the skull.

"Elder brains are held in a vat of briny fluids that consist of all the brains of dead mind flayers in the colony." The mind flayer was hoisted over her shoulder as she approached the one pierced by the javelin. "Mind flayers are a telepathic race and the elder brain serves as their central networking system. The saying goes that 'one mind flayer sees you, and they all see'. If a dead brain is put into the vat, all of its' experiences is shared with the whole colony."

"And I'm assuming that by burning the bodies it'll damage the brain to the point of it's unusable by the colony?" At this point he was beside her, grasping onto the javelin to pull out. Once it was pulled out, he copied her action and stabbed it in the skull before hoisting it over his own shoulder. While killing humans was a taboo in Light guilds, the rules regarding creatures were vague due to the various requests to take out certain beasts harming towns. Having killed a fair share of wyverns and vulcans, whether on purpose or accident, Laxus didn't seem phased in killing these mind flayers or ogres considering the harm they were causing. However, he didn't expect such monsterous creatures to even exist in the first place.

"It's been the best solution I've had so far. It seems that with the combination of them being barely in range of the elder brain and a rune barrier blocking out telepathic messages was a good decision since they were unable to relay my attacks to any mind flayers within five miles." She turned her head towards him, her lips curved in a smile. "You're analyzation of the situation was pretty fast."

"Years of going on missions helped prepare me for that I guess. I wasn't an S-class mage for nothing." He felt a small pang of pain in his heart at his words.

"I have to thank you for the help you provided. Mind flayers are extremely sensitive to bright lights and your lightning was an excellent distraction. Sunlight doesn't do anything because they have special lids over their eyes to block out the sun." The two deposited the last of the bodies in the pile before she raise her hand outward.

"Channel Divinity: Sacred Flames." Bright flames of blues and purples unfurled themselves out of her palm towards the pile. The two stood in silence before the woman let out a squeak. Surprised at the sound, Laxus downwards to see her face covered with her hands.

"What's wrong?"

"I totally forgot to tell the villagers what the signal for 'the coast is clear' was. It'll take forever to find them and bring them back to town! The sun is almost set too!" Her teary eyes peeked out from her hands. Here was a woman who fought, killed, and stared down vicious monsters without batting an eye that was panicking about returning some villagers to town before the sunset. Laxus couldn't hold back a laugh.

"It's not funny you jerk! What if they get attacked?" She glared at the laughing man.

"Don't worry about it. They're only about two miles out and I gave them a signal of my own." Raise his fist to the sky, Laxus created a dragon shaped out of lightning. "Now all we got to do is wait." The smug dragon slayer smirked towards the paladin, who looked at him with deadpan eyes.

"Are you sure they're going to see that?" A little irritated by her questioning, Laxus sent out another dragon, but instead of it appearing and disappearing, the dragon made a dash into the forest.

"It'll find the villagers and alert them. Happy now?"

"Very." The two were quiet before a small laugh came from the woman and a smile curled at Laxus' lips. For the next twenty minutes, the duo worked together to rid the town of the dead, adding any mind flayer pieces to the burning pile. There wasn't anything they could do about the ruined buildings except try and offer some kind of compensation to the villagers for destroying them. The flaming pile of mind flayers had extinguished themselves roughly ten minutes into the clean-up, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes. Satisfied with what they could do in twenty minutes, the paladin and dragon slayer decided to rest at the edge of town so they could catch sight of the villagers as soon as they made it through the forest clearing. The duo felt absolutely exhausted and could go for a bath. The womans' once clean, white appearance now dirtied with blood and dirt. Laxus wasn't faring any better. He had abandoned his traveling cloak and shirt during the cleanup and just wanted to turn in for the night. A nice roaring fire made by the woman was burning brightly between the two. While the silence was nice, Laxus needed answers. This whole day just had too many loose ends to tie up.

"I asked earlier and at this point it's becoming a habit today, but can you just tell me what is going on? I understand that these mind flayers were kidnapping people and trying to turn the villages into essentially breeding grounds for livestock. From just that I can conclude that they are feeding off people but that doesn't explain how creatures like that even exist in Fiore. I've been to many parts of the country and never once heard or seen something like that." If the magic council or the guilds had been aware of such beasts, there could have been preventative measures in place to ensure the safety of the people. Then again, having dealt with the magic council, Laxus knew that all they cared about is saving their asses and not tell the populace in fear of riots and the like.

"My contacts in Seven had reached out saying that there was a migrating ulitharid and its followers on the loose. An ulitharid is considered elite nobility in mind flayer society and have the ability to turn into an elder brain. Only one in a hundred mind flayer tadpoles develop into one. Unfortunately they lost their exact location but from tracking and observing their moving patterns from where they did pass and were spotted, it was clear that they were heading towards Fiore." She shifted her position on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

"At the time, I was on a coastal island completely on the other side of the country dealing with an outbreak of carrion crawlers, nasty little buggers. The message didn't reach me until a few month ago, giving them enough time to find and create a lair for the ulitharid to become an elder brain." Her forehead now rested on her knees. While her face was now obscured from his vision, he could smell the salt beginning to form from her. Crap, he wasn't good at dealing with crying women.

"I should have dealt with those carrion crawlers quicker. I could have received the message quicker. I could have prevent the ulitharid in settling down and infecting the nearby villages. I would have saved hundreds of lives that were lost and who knows how many people are still alive in the lair! I cou-"

"Stop it." Laxus interrupted her ramblings. She was doing exactly what he was doing when he was first kicked out of the guild, doubting all the decisions that were made and thinking about a possible future based on those choices that would never happen now.

"The time for 'would of', 'could of', and 'should of' is done and over with. Focus on what you're going to do next to stop more people from suffering." He could hear a few sniffles coming from her direction and continued to speak. "Everything happens for a reason. If you didn't take care of those carrion crawlers properly, I'm sure that the island they were on could have gotten worse. Stop beating yourself up and move forward."

Laxus wished he had someone to talk to him like in the past, a voice of reason in the sea of madness. The least he could do is try and guide her out of whatever darkness she was facing. Looking at her, he couldn't help but think that she looked younger than she did before. Her chin rested on her knees with her arms wrapped around them. It was her eyes that caught him, just like before. They glowed bright but there seemed to be something haunting behind those sapphire jewels.

 _ **Comfort.**_

For the second time today, a low, husky voice growled in Laxus' mind. That made him jump, eyes scanning back and forth trying to figure out where this voice was coming from. The voice itself sounded familiar yet foreign. The last time he could recall hearing it was when his father forcefully implanted his lacrima. His time during the implantation were hazy from all the pain he was under. Laxus was lost in thought of where this voice was coming from and why did it appear now of all times when her pearly bell-like voice echoed in the empty village.

"You're right. I forgot how it felt like working together with someone else and not having just myself to talk to." A small smile appeared on her face. "I'm just really tired I guess and the stress just got to me right now. Being alone does that to a person. Ever since I got that letter I've been tracking them down and gathering as much information that I could before I plan an all out attack. I just came from freeing another village before heading over here" A sigh left her lips before continuing. The fatigue that showed on her face didn't fit her. For all this talk about how powerful this paladin was, she was still one person, still a human being.

"You're not alone anymore." Her face shot up to meet his, shock in her eyes. "So tell me what the plan of attack is."

"I can't ask you to do that! You've already helped enough with the ogres and mind flayers here and getting the villagers."

"Well you're not asking, I'm demanding and don't think about sneaking out of town. I'll be able to find you." His eyes were full of confidence and determination. "And if we're going to be partners in this plan I'm going to need to know your name. Can't exactly call you 'woman' or 'paladin' all the time. Would be a bit weird after awhile." She let a huff escape her lips.

"The same can be said about you stranger."

"Feisty. Keep that up and I'll call you kitten." Her eyes slipped down into a glare.

"Don't you dare Sparky." If Laxus had met her before the Battle of Fairy Tail, he would have probably shocked her for such a nickname but she looked more relaxed during their small banter. Before he could respond, his eyes were drawn to the forest clearing. Several lights were burning through the clearing and the familiar scent of the villagers broke through. The paladin also caught sight of the lights as she stood up with a smile.

"They're back! Your little lightning trick worked!" Laxus' eye began to twitch for the second time today. There seems to be a lot of repeating actions on this day. Unlike the first time, he did not hold his tongue back.

"Little? Trick? Same can be said about your height kitten. How old are you even?" She barely reached his chin in height.

"Don't call me kitten! I have a name and I'll have you know I'm 23." Her back was towards him with her gaze still resting on the returning villagers that began entering through the forest clearing. It was Laxus' turn to stare at her with deadpan eyes. No way kitten was a year younger than him.

"And what would your be, oh great Paladin of Fiore?" Tilting her head towards him, her lips curled into a smile as her eyes met his once again.

"Leona. My name is Leona, the Paladin of Fiore. And you?."

' _Brave as a Lioness. I guess kitten really does fit her.'_ Laxus though before introducing himself.

"Laxus. Just Laxus." He wouldn't be tied down to the Dreyar name, his grandfather's, nor Fairy Tail. He can be 'Just Laxus' in this moment right now.

* * *

 _Everywhere the paladin went..._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Word Count: 6,381

* * *

To say that the lightning dragon slayer was exhausted was an understatement. He felt about ready to pass out on his bed. Upon the arrival of the townsfolk, there was cheering and plans for celebration, which the duo immediately tried to turn down. They were offered free room and boarding in a surprisingly intact inn as a thanks for freeing their town of the mind flayers and ogres. For the first night in a long time, the Grinning Stallion Inn was fully packed with merrymaking. Those who could cook banded together to create a large feast, men and women drank to their heart's content at the bar, and the children danced to the merry tune being played.

Laxus didn't get a chance to talk to Leona during the festivities regarding their conversation earlier. She was constantly being surrounded by the villagers who were either thanking her or asking her about some of the rumors being circulated. Something Laxus notice was that a smile never left her face during the night, even when telling stories about some of her most dangerous encounters with creatures he's never even heard of, like a beholder and cloakers. Her smile was the brightest when interacting with the children, either playing with them or dancing in a circle.

Laxus had to admit that he felt relax but there was sense of tension still at the back of his mind. Even if this village was free from harm, the threat was still out there. A whole colony of them that is mentally connected with by a central entity. It's possible that there could be survivors holding out at the colony but what were the chances of that? Probably low since those abducted are civilians and it's unknown if any of them were mages.

Besides the problem with the mind flayers, the other thing bothering him was the voice he heard earlier. Laxus was not considered a 'true' dragonslayer since he had his slayer abilities from the lacrima implanted. Not only was he not taught by a real dragon but he didn't have the incessant inner dragon instinct that Natsu and, from his observations during the planning phase of the Battle of Fairy Tail, Gajeel had. Laxus remembered lounging up on the second floor years ago when Levy had asked Natsu about dragon slaying magic and what makes a dragon slayer different from a normal mage. Natsu had been surprisingly informative for being such a flame-brain. He had explained that a dragon slayer took on dragon-like traits from their dragon parent, such as an urge to horde things, heightened senses, and an inner dragon. Hoarding-wise, Laxus couldn't say if he had a history of hoarding anything. In the case of Natsu, he seemed drawn to collecting memorabilia from each mission he went on. Gajeel on the other hand seemed to hoard iron, but its possible that it was more for food than actual hoarding. Having heightened senses was a given for being a slayer, but it was that inner dragon Laxus' laxed.

An inner dragon was the most primal and feral part of a dragon slayer. It was the raw force of their most basic instinct that also acted as a guide to dragon slayers at times, sometimes even communicating with the slayer. During heightened emotions, the inner dragon can boost the magical levels of the slayer due to the drive they possess. From the way Natsu made it sound, an inner dragon was integral to being a dragon slayer. There was more information Laxus had missed out on since he stormed out of the guild hall halfway through. Laxus could remember being in a piss poor mood for the next week or so after hearing that. Another thing to remind him that he wasn't a true dragon slayer. He never heard his inner dragon communicate with him since the lacrima was put into him. It's possible that something happened to it during the implantation process since that was the last time he heard that voice.

' _Shitty pops still messing with me after all this time.'_ His thoughts were interrupted by a light knocking at the door. ' _Who's up at this time?'_ By the time he left the party, half of those who participated in the celebration were either passed out drunk or went back to their homes. His senses were dulled by the amount of alcohol he consumed and the exhaustion he felt.

"Who is it?"

"It's me Sparky." _Leona_. Immediately, Laxus stumbled out of the bed, hand reaching out for the door handle. Once the door opened, greenish blue eyes met sapphire blue. There Leona stood at the hallway still in her armor, which was clean now. Her wet hair was released from its braid with several white feathers still entwined. While not standing directly in front of his door, he could smell how intoxicating her scent was. Leona smelled like fresh lotus, a scent that is rare and hard to find in the country in Fiore. It was subtle, airy, and most important of all natural, nothing like the overpowering scents that the women at Fairy Tail had with their obsession with perfumes. God forbid the last time he got roped to go shopping with Evergreen.

"Kitten? What do you need?" Her eye twitched.

"What's the point of telling you my name if you're not going to use it?" Laxus gave a smug smirk.

"The same could be said to you. Don't think I've heard you say my name either since I gave it." Again, another twitch.

"If you're this rude to a person you barely know, I can't imagine how you treat the people you do know." His back went tensed as memories of what he did passed by. While he understood his actions were wrong, it didn't mean he was over what happened. "Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you again for your help. I shouldn't have been so hasty in freeing more than one town in a day. The first one had a larger population and I was already tired from the traveling. So, thank you Laxus. You didn't have to but you did."

"I was just passing through and saw that there was something I could do. No big deal." A small flush of pink rested on his cheeks. He was used to the cheers and praises from when he was in Fairy Tail with the Thunder Legion but this time felt different, more personal. Perhaps it was because his actions weren't tied down by a name. Perhaps it's because it's was the first time she actually said his name. Perhaps it was the little smile on her face that graced her face when she said his name. Perhaps it was nothing and he's just buzzed still.

"Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks and if you are serious about being my partner in this, we can talk tomorrow morning. There's going to be plenty to discuss and plan but little time before they realize that all their scouts and minions are dead instead of simply being out of range." Her tiny smile turned downward. A small rumble made its way through his chest.

"Hey, enough of that self-pity crap. Remember what I said, you're not alone in this now. _I_ asked _you_ , not the other way around. You got yourself a partner." Leona stared at him with wide eyes before the smile returned.

"More like demanded. I'll see you tomorrow than. Sweet dreams Sparky." She quickly turned on her heel and headed to her room before she could hear his reply.

"Tch. Didn't even wait to for me to respond." Laxus shook his head before closing the door and getting ready for bed. He laid on his side facing the windows to stare at the glowing moon. Maybe his life can still be interesting without being at the guild.

"Night Kitten."

* * *

As quickly as the night came and went, the morning came too quickly for Laxus' taste. The excitement from the day before still had him mentally drained. He sat up to get ready for the day since there was no time to waste. Quickly throwing on his simple traveling clothes after his shower, which consisted of a dark shirt under a long light jacket closed by a simple belt, loose dark pants ending below his knees, and a pair of boots, he headed downstairs. There was some planning he and the paladin had to do.

Reaching the dinning area of the inn, Laxus could smell the aroma of coffee permeating through the air. He could use one right now actually. Leona wasn't a hard person to miss. A vision of silver, white, and gold, she was seated in a corner booth with a mug in her hand. She seemed to glow under the sunlight.

"Morning Pipsqueak." The new nickname earned him a withering look as he sat across from her.

"We can't all be freakishly tall giants Lightning Rod." She took a sip of her drink, which he could now smell and identify as a mixture of black tea, raspberry, and pomegranate. A strange mixture to him since he wasn't much of a tea fan. Probably had to do with bad memories of being forced to drink bitter crap by Porlyusica when he was young and sickly. Just thinking about the red-eyed, pink-haired devil made him shiver. "I have a name, you know?"

"Didn't we just have this conversation last night? I'll start using your name when you start using mine." A waitress came by and placed a breakfast platter and coffee in front of Laxus and a platter of fruit in front of Leona. "For me Kitten? You shouldn't have." Immediately he took a large gulp out of his freshly brewed coffee.

"At this point I really shouldn't if I have to suffer this abuse. And if I remember correctly, I did call you by your name last night so don't use that logic on me Sparky."

"Back to Sparky, huh? Get creative with your nicknames. You don't think I haven't heard those ones before?" As if to spite him, she stole a slice of his bacon. "Hey!"

"Not fast enough!" Another piece snatched.

"I'm warning you Kitten." This time a piece of sausage. Then a piece of toast. It wasn't until she reached out for her next victim that he reached out to grab her wrist.

"Leona." If he knew that saying her name would get her to stop, he would have done it earlier. Her wrist laid in his firm, but loose, grip while she stared at him. Only now did he notice that she didn't have her gauntlets on. They laid innocently on the table against the wall. Her wrist felt soft and smooth in his grasp, despite the scars etching her forearms.

"L-Let's just finish our breakfast and I'll fill you in on what I know." Leona retracted her hand from his grip with a small blush on her cheeks. She couldn't remember the last time someone had touched her hands without her gauntlets on. They had become a source of security over her time alone. The only reason she didn't wear them now was because the handle of the small mug containing her tea was too small for her to hold. Stupid reason but she liked holding mugs with handles that way.

The two finished their platters in silence, both in deep thought. By the time they were done, the sun had risen higher in the sky. Agreeing that this topic wasn't something to discuss with others around, Leona led him away from the town to a nearby creek that was obscured by the trees. At first Laxus thought it was a bit excessive but went along with the paladin. Reaching the brook, there was a large willow tree resting beside the creek with a patches of grass and various rocks of varying sizes surrounding it. The area was well shaded with the various trees and was actually very peaceful. Leona opted to sit with her back leaning on the willow tree while Laxus sat across a few inches beside one of the larger rocks. There a nice breeze blowing through the clearing.

"I have to ask you once more before I debrief you Laxus. Are you a hundred percent sure that you want to do this?" There was no playful banter or teasing tone in her words. It was stern and similar to the way she spoke the day before during her fight.

"This is the third time I've said this and I'll say it again to get it through your thick skull. I'm your partner in this." However that serious face didn't relax.

"If I remember right you said you were a 'S-class mage', correct? Were you part of a Light or Dark guild?" Now he felt he was being insulted. He was pretty sure she saw his Fairy Tail guild symbol the night before while they were doing clean up.

"Seriously? Do you really think I would be part of a Dark guild after risking my ass to help you and the villagers out? Where are going with this? Cause it sounds like you're accusing me of something." His words spat at her like venom. He felt like as if she was questioning all of the good he was trying to do. He didn't need that when he was already doubting himself. However, the rage and anger he felt brewing stop when he saw her facial expression change from emotionless to one of possibly regret. Her eyes were downturned and her lips curled into a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I wasn't questioning your moralities but I had to know. I wasn't sure whose guild mark you bore and I had to make sure because as far as I am aware of, Light guilds don't kill, especially commit genocide of an entire race." Her eyes returned to his wide, confused ones.

"Genocide? Where are you going with this?"

"Mind flayers are considered sentient creatures, able to think and feel things like us humans. However, they are dangerous and are considered irredeemable. I'm sure you're smart enough to assume that they feast on their victims, correct?" Laxus nodded his head, coming to that conclusion the night before.

"They feed specifically on their brains. It doesn't have to be a human one either. As long as they can get their hands on an intelligent brain, they will eat it. The creatures you saw working for them are ogres and are not the smartest cookie in the jar. They are one of the races that mind flayers considered as inedible so they turn them into slaves instead. No living creature with a brain is safe from them. It's impossible to reason with one. They are selfish creatures whose only goal is to expand their domination over all other creatures, controlling their minds to use them as either mindless slaves or as a livestock in order to devour their brains for sustenance." She paused for a bit to catch her breath before continuing. "I know you killed two of them yesterday, whether it was by accident or not, but will you be ok with killing more of them? On purpose? Are you willing commit essentially genocide to a society of sentient creatures? I cannot have you doubting your actions if you decide to tag along."

It seemed funny to him that she would bring this up, seeing as he just had a debate with himself the other day regarding killing those mind flayers. He wasn't phased in killing the creatures, especially knowing now that they were basically putting targets on nearly every single living creatures backs if they had an 'intelligent' brain. If anything, that strengthened his resolve in actually killing those damn things. Could he live with himself in committing genocide? What would gramps say? Probably that everyone deserves a second chance but it sounds near impossible for a race that constantly needs brains to satisfy their hunger. To save the villagers of the towns affected, future victims, the country of Fiore, and his family, Laxus needed to do this. Leona cannot be the only one to hold this burden on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't be able to call myself a S-class mage if I let others suffer the same fate as these villages. Besides, the Magic Council rules regarding creatures are vague to say the least and I'm thinking these mind flayers fall under that category." Laxus gave her a small smirk. "You're not running me off that easily Kitten. Got it through your thick head yet?"

Leona stared at the man in front of her in absolute shock. When was the last time someone talked to her like this with so much confidence and conviction? It's been forever since she had someone to rely on during her travels. Someone to watch her back and stick with her through the good and bad. However, she knew that this partnership would end once the mind flayers were taken care of. She couldn't and shouldn't get attached to him. Truly, she did have a thick skull but that didn't stop her from letting a little smile slip.

"I got it Sparky." A bright flash glowed in Leona's hands, revealing a map after it faded.

' _Requip magic? So she's well-versed in different fields of magic. Interesting.'_ Opening the map up revealed a series of circles with slashes through them and a large 'X' made in red.

"After a few weeks of scoping out the towns that were under mind flayer control, I was able to pinpoint the center of where their colony resides. Those circled in the red are the towns previously occupied by mind flayers. The slashes through them means they have been dealt with." A red marker was requipped out. Leaning over, she made a slash through the only remaining circle that wasn't marked. "We are right here in Krymmer and over here-" her marker went to the large 'X' mark, "is where the colony located."

Judging by the scale of the map, the lair looked like it was roughly ten miles away. It would probably take two and a half hours or three if they headed there at a high pace, but all that time could be cut in half if Laxus used lightning body. If he had to carry Leona it wouldn't slow him down by too much.

"The elder brain can reach up to eight miles without complications, ten miles makes communication sketchy. Luckily for us, Krymmer is between that eight and ten mile zone. While I was scoping out for the city, I found several hidden entrances, all unguarded but hidden with strong illusion magic. We can set up traps at each of the entrances and use one or two of them as our entrance and exit point. A mind flayer lair can span almost two miles with the elder brain at the center. My original goal was to try and take out the entire colony in one hit."

"What about survivors? They'd be caught up in the attack."

"I have an ability to teleport them out but it would require me to teleport out with them. In order to do that first, I would have to stealth in and try to find them and there's a variety of factors that could go wrong. If I get caught, the mind flayers will be on high alert and heighten their defenses. Hitting the entire colony in one powerful attack will decimate a large number of them and possibly destroy the elder brain. Once that thing is dead, the telepathic connection will be severed and severally injure their mental state. They're basically vulnerable until they can either find another elder brain or try to create their own colony with the same goals as before." Leona let out a frustrated sigh. There was too much riding on this and too many variables to account for. If she was younger, she would probably bust in without thinking about the possibility of things going wrong. Thankfully Xayah knocked that out of her, despite Rakan's protest.

Laxus sat there with his arms crossed, trying to come up with a plan with the new information. There was now two mages instead of one working on this. They could both sneak in together and search for the villagers and watch each others back but the chances of running into mind flayers was high. While he didn't know what abilities they had, he understood that they were highly telepathic and probably sensitive to outsiders. Laxus also didn't know what Leona's skill set was except for a few spells and that she was clearly an expert with a sword.

"You mentioned that you wanted to hit the colony with one attack. What is your magical ability? We should probably figure out what abilities we have and work from there. What can a paladin do?" You couldn't really blame him in being curious since paladins technically are 'extinct'.

"A paladin can technically be identified by the type of magic we use, Channel Divinity. It's considered lost magic since many of us were killed many years ago. We are born with the innate ability to channel divine energies that are gifted to us by the existing divine bodies in the world. It is possible for someone to not know they have the ability to use Channel Divinity because many mistake it for some kind of caster or holder magic. It depends on how it manifests. The only way to harness the true potential of Channel Divinity is through a mentorship by an older paladin. Once the basics and traditions are taught and passed on, we are given the choice to swear an oath that will bind us to our words and deity or choose to not make an oath and have Channel Divinity become a secondary source of magic. Those who choose the second option tend to still work with their mentor paladin until their core source of magic develops. For those who chose the first option, we are given the title of paladin and our magical abilities will change and alter due to the oaths that was taken and what deity that oath falls under. For example, those who swear an oath to the Wildmother are blessed with the ability to perform elemental magic. What kind of element depends on what he or she is compatible with. It's a bit complicated." Her little smile annoyed him a little. How much more confusing could you get? Because that wasn't really that helpful. Seeing his face scrunched in confusion, Leona couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You've seen some of my spells yesterday, like Warden example. Warden is divine energy that is condensed to form a barrier that can protect an individual or a group. The more energy I put into casting Warden initially, the stronger the shield. Warden is one of the basic spells all Channel Divinity users learn under the tutelage of a paladin. I tweaked my version of Warden so it can absorb the magical energy exerted on in so I can redistribute it into either sustaining the shield or creating a kinetic energy pulse bomb. I couldn't do that the other day since the ogre was attacking it physically. " Laxus' facial expression didn't really change much, with his eyes furrowed together.

"It's just going to be something I'm going to have to see to understand that huh?"

"Basically."

"So do you have some kind of boost with whatever oath you took for the deity you follow?" Something definitely suspicious this time because Leona let out a hesitant laugh while rubbing the back of her head.

"W-Well you see, I didn't really take on the traditional oaths that most took. The ones my mentors follow didn't really connect with me. Neither did the other oaths I read about. It wasn't because of the deities themselves I had a problem with, but the tenets of the oaths. So I did the next best thing, I made my own."

"You can do that?" Her magic was getting really confusing. Actually, she was just confusing in general.

"My mentors told me that it's not impossible to do and there's some documented cases but it's more uncommon because our oaths are powered by a deity. An oath is our solemn promise that we will uphold for the rest of our lives. The god or goddess we say our pledge to is there to make sure we fulfill our vows and grant us with that magical boost to not only help us uphold our oath that they have approved of, but to also remind us what we can lose if we ever stray from our path. With the state of the world today, it's already difficult enough for a paladin to even exist because of how little of us there are. Just imagine how hard it is now to get a blessing from a deity with a new oath." Leona gave a small smile. "I wasn't expecting one to answer my call when I made my oath. Honestly, if I didn't get an answer, I was still going to stick with it. I guess I'm stubborn like that. You can imagine my surprise when I heard their voices calling out to me."

"Wait, 'their'? As in more than one? Multiple? That sounds crazy. What the hell kind of magic do you have Leona?! What kind of oath did you make? How many of these deities do you have following you? What do you have to give up just for this power?" This was becoming extremely complicated compared to dragon slayer magic. A paladins' magic was clearly tied to his or her beliefs and actions and in order to gain more abilities they had to essentially tied themselves to a higher being of power. What kind of oaths do these people have to take? Could this be the reason why there were barely any paladins left after the Dragon King Festival?

"'Never be cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in. Hate is always foolish while love is always wise. Always leave things better than you found it. Be kind and have faith.' Those are the tenets of my oath. It's an oath of kindness when I was offered none for so long. Not until I was found by my mentors. If it wasn't for them, I don't even think I would be here today." If Laxus didn't feel like an ass earlier, he felt like one now. He could see how tense her shoulders got since his little outburst. Shit. He really messed up this time. Why couldn't he kept his damn mouth shut and let her finish?

 _ **Apologize.**_

' _I don't need you to fucking tell me that.'_ Laxus really didn't need to hear this growling imaginary voice right now. He knew he messed up. There was still so much he needed to learn with tact and patience being two of them. Jumping to conclusion is another, especially since he just did just that not even a few minutes ago when all she was trying to do was help.

"I didn't mean to offend you, your oath, or your magic. If anything, it sounds like a good one. From my end, it sounds dangerous, like you're giving your freedom and life to some higher power for just some power. The practices of paladins weren't well documented and I've never came across any kind of magic that you're describing. Despite that, I shouldn't have reacted in that way. I'm sorry Leona." The silence between the two was deafening. None making any sounds and lost in thought before Leona ended it.

"It's fine. I don't expect normal mages to understand how our magic and traditions work. Let me finish explaining my abilities and then it'll be your turn." Her words did not make him feel better. Here she was answering his question and essentially baring her vulnerability to him, and he was the ass that ruined it. Laxus had to make it up to her somehow, someway. He wanted to prove to her, and himself, that he wasn't a complete asshole.

"Where was I? Oh, yes, the voices. There were seven of them that came and offered their services to me. Each deity have their own domains and found my oath to be acceptable. In all the books and scrolls I've read, there were no documented cases where a new oath was offered so many offers initially. Because of my inability to choose a singular deity to pledge myself to, they granted me with Requip Divinity magic. This changes my armor and weapons and grants me access to a specific deities domain. Using my example from earlier, one of the deities that accepted my oath was the Wildmother. She is the Goddess of the Wilderness and the Sea and is typically worshipped by hunters and seamen. I can requip into the Wildmothers' Embrace and it will grant me the ability to control and manipulate the elements of the wild and the sea. Currently, I have access to at least four requips." It's barely noon and Leona already felt exhausted.

This was probably the most she's shared to a complete stranger. She should of just gave him a simple run down of her powers instead of answering what a paladin was. Was she that lonely? Here she was, essentially spilling her guts out to this man. Shit, she should had just sticked with traveling with Rakan and Xayah but their constant flirting and making out wasn't appealing.

"Regarding your inquiry about my 'one-hit' spell, I can only use it with the Dawnfather's Light. The Dawnfather is the God of the Sun Domain. This is one of my most powerful defensive forms and it can also be extremely destructive when the sun is out. The ability Cruel Sun creates a large mass of heat and energy that is condensed into a size of my choosing. I was planning on using it but it would completely wipeout any chances of finding any survivors and it is more effective when there is a source of sunlight. With the lair being underground, I could still use it but the same problem would surface." The possibility of there being survivors was high. Mind flayers only need to consume at least one intelligent brain per month in order to remain healthy. They could be keeping a handful of humans to indulge themselves before having to replenish their stock.

"You said you have an ability to teleport potential survivors out, correct?" Laxus had a plan, one that he felt extremely reluctant to use but if they were able to pull it off, the survivors would be safe and the lair destroyed.

"Yes. The Raven Queen's Knight is a tricky requip but I've mastered its aspect of shadows. Shroud of Darkness lets me use shadow travel but it also allows me to teleport by entering the Shadowfell dimension. Through entering this dimension, I can move a short distance within it and emerge back at a farther one. I can teleport other people and objects along with me, however, I cannot do this for a long period of time because normal people cannot traverse safely through Shadowfell. The larger the group I transport, the more energy it requires to safely transport them out."

"I see." The plan Laxus was formulating was possible, however, it would require them to split up. Leona would have to play bait in the sense while finding survivors in order for Laxus to execute the one hit attack. There were two problems. The first one would be the lack of preparation and assets in a short amount of time. It could take days to just collect the items. The second one was that the last time he used it, he tried to destroy Magnolia and really didn't want to ever use it again. Like ever. Just thinking about it made him upset at his stupid actions. The problem was that if he didn't use it, Leona would have to attack and Laxus didn't have any mobility abilities that would help any survivors out of the lair, besides Lightning Body but he could only hold maybe two or three people at a time. Plus it was too flashy and distracting. What the hell is he going to do?

 _ **Move forward.**_

It was the growling voice again but it didn't sound as aggressive as it did the previous times and spoke more than one word. The voice spoke in a soft rumble, almost like a purring cat.

 _ **Forgive yourself. Move on.**_

' _Who are you?'_ He received no response but still felt the rumbling in his chest. It felt relaxing, as if all the tension in his body had flushed out. Laxus could ponder on this at a later time but those words resonated within him. Forgiveness. It's only been a month since his banishment and he had learned that his actions were wrong but he had never forgiven himself for them. For hurting his nakama. Was this thing telling him he was worthy of being forgiven? Was using this destructive ability the first step in accepting his actions and a step towards forgiving himself?

 _ **Yes.**_

The rumbling got louder and Laxus could feel it coursing through his whole body.

' _Understood.'_

"I have a plan but it will take time to execute. How much time do we have before they realize their scouts aren't coming back?" His words snapped Leona out of her own thoughts. He was able to come up with a better plan then hers in only a few minutes? She would be lying if she didn't say she was impressed with the man despite how his previous outburst upset her.

"There was a total of fifteen small villages like Krymmer and four large towns. It's been nearly two weeks since I started my attacks. This was the last village to be freed. To my knowledge, scouts are sent out and are expected to return within two to three weeks. It usually depends on how many people they bring back to the lair and how far away the villages are. I was hoping to attack them within this timeframe." He had about less than week to go and gather the items needed to pull of his attack and then charge them with his magic. It would be difficult, but doable if he was able to find a well-stocked town.

"Then there's no time to lose. Let me explain first and you can ask questions later." It was his turn to explain his magic. Once he saw her nod, he sat up straighter and unfolded his arms to rest them on his criss crossed knees.

"First, I owe you an explanation of my magic. I use lightning magic, but to be most specific, I use Lightning Dragon Slayer magic." For so long he kept it under wraps because he didn't want to hear Gramps' lectures but ever since spilling the beans to Natsu and Gajeel during their little fight, it felt a bit freeing to say. While not trained by a real dragon, he felt a sense of pride of learning how to use the lost magic without any help.

"Dragon Slaying magic?"

"Didn't I say-" He didn't expect Leona to cut him off.

"I've heard about this type of magic."

"What?" Exactly how much does this girl know? She's sounding like a walking encyclopedia of monsters and magic.

"I've come across that phrase a few times in my scrolls but never read into it since some of it was in another language. Didn't really have the patiences to translate it at the time." Her brow furrowed in concentration. "If I remember right, I met a young girl a few years ago while hunting down a creature killing a villages livestock. Cute kid but extremely shy. She uses Sky Dragon Slayer magic."

"She give you the rundown on how we use our magic then?" Laxus asked. If she really did meet another dragon slayer, he didn't really need to waste more time in explaining it. Although, the prospect of there being more dragon slayers out there did interest him but would they be like him, a second generation slayer, or a first generation slayer.

"Yes, she was nice enough to open up about her abilities. I can assume your magic is similar but with lightning?"

"Yeah. There are a few basic slayer spells that every dragon slayer uses, like the roar attack I used yesterday. Besides that, as far as I'm aware of, each element has their own specialty spells." From his fight with Natsu and Gajeel, he can assume that all slayers despite their generation can use some form of roar, claw, or wing attacks.

"I'm not built for defensive magic. Any mobility abilities I have are primarily for when I go on the offensive. It's no good for helping out large groups in escaping. For the plan, we are going to have to split up." This got an eyebrow raise from Leona.

"What happened to working together, _partner_?" Leona couldn't help but throw that word in his face with how much he kept saying it.

"Well _partner_ ," he shot back, "since you clearly have a way to get any survivor out without any problem, you might have to play bait until I give you the signal." That caught her attention.

"Signal?" Laxus nodded.

"There is a specialty spell that I created that can do something similar to your Cruel Sun. It requires some prep time on my part because it requires me to get a large amount of lacrima and fill them with an enormous amount of lightning magic. Once that's done, I need time to put them up in the air in a circle formation around the lair. When activated, everything below the circle is struck by powerful lightning bolts."

Leona could see that there was some kind of internal struggle within Laxus when he started talking about this spell. She could practically see the veins bulging on the hands that were gripping his knees. What exactly did he do with this spell? Why did he even need such a destructive spell?

"I call it the Thunder Palace."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Fairy Tail.

Word Count: 4,789

* * *

"I call it the Thunder Palace."

Flashes of lightning filled lacrima floating above the town of Magnolia played in Laxus' mind. The possible destruction he could have caused to hundreds of innocents civilians during Fantasia was one of his dumbest decisions ever, right after his failed attempt at Fairy Law. He could vividly remember the faces of horror and anger when the Battle for Fairy Tail began. The look of disappointment that Gramps gave him. The fear in Levy's face and voice when she said Gramps was dying. The sickening grin he had when he heard that. The smell of tears from Gramps when he was banished.

"Laxus."

Using the Thunder Palace would have done more harm than good to not only the town of Magnolia, but for the guild. The town would be decimated. Who would want to stay in a cruel guild if he got his way? What kind of clientele would want to hire Fairy Tail in the aftermath of the Thunder Palace? All he wanted to do was make the guild stronger in his twisted way. The need to be strong stemmed from his father's constant berating during his sickly years.

"Laxus."

Fucking shitty pops couldn't even stay long enough to take care of him. Always gone for some reason, giving Gramps the most ridiculous excuses. Couldn't even take time out of his 'busy' schedule to train him properly. Instead, he forced him to undergo surgery to implant the lacrima and then left him in front of Gramps house before disappearing to who freaking knows where. Deadbeat couldn't even care for the mess he left behind. For weeks, Laxus was in agony while his body tried to acclimatize the lacrima.

"LAXUS!"

Leona shouting his name finally snapped him out of his cloudy thoughts. She had gotten worried when Laxus didn't continue talking. His eyes were hazy and the tension in his body had reached the point where sparks of electricity was running across his body. Whatever he did with Thunder Palace didn't reflect well with his reaction.

"Sorry. Got lost in thought." Yeah, not good enough. If just mentioning what it was and what it does put him in such a state, it would be wise not to use it.

"It's fine. Maybe we should use something else? Got anything else in your arsenal?" From her observation, Laxus seemed like a proud man and she didn't want to call him out on his little mental breakdown. She wasn't implying that he was weak in anyway, but again, if he were to slip during the battlefield, there were major consequences.

"No, this is the best route to take." He shook his head when his mind played with the idea of using Fairy Law but he immediately rejected it. After his failed attempt and Freed's speech, Laxus had snuck into the guild library and Gramps office after Fantasia to see if what Freed said had any merit. The rune masters words spoke true, but not only that, he had discovered the side effects of the spell. Hidden among the shelves in Gramps office was First Master Mavis' diary. The First Master wrote that Fairy Law was only meant to be used on a singular target. The more targets the caster uses it on, the more lethal it would be to the casters lifespan. With how many people he was going to target, it was a good thing the spell failed.

The other reason he was against using the spell was because he wasn't a fairy anymore. It just didn't feel right for a non-fairy to use one of the 'Three Great Fairy Magics'.

"Like I said, I don't really have the best mobility spells and the ones I do have are too flashy. It's bound to catch their attention." Leona nodded in agreement to his assessment. If the man was confident about it, she wasn't going to stop him. That just meant she had to find the survivors and get them out quickly and double back in case he needed the backup.

"Alrighty then. Exactly how much lacrima are you going to need?" With the surrounding towns being composed mostly of farming villages and the larger ones being small merchant ones, there probably wasn't a large supply of lacrima readily available. Especially since they've been under mind flayer control. Hopefully they wouldn't need that mu-

"I used roughly four hundred last time."

"Eh?!" Definitely won't have enough. Did he carry a huge supply with him or something?!

"Yeah. I think I could of used at least a hundred less." Laxus didn't really experiment much with how far apart each lacrima could be. Also his mind wasn't in the right place so he arrogantly thought that putting more up in the air would force Gramps into giving up his position as guild leader quicker. Obviously that wasn't the case now.

"Do you even have that much lacrima on you? We don't exactly have a huge time frame finding and buying them and then having you fill them up." Laxus shook his head no.

"None. I was hoping that nearby towns might have it but now I'm thinking that's not possible."

"Umm, you think?" It took him a long time just to collect that many lacrima since, one he didn't want to buy so many in one location since that would look suspicious. This caused him to buy most of the lacrima while he and the Thunder Legion went on missions. Second of all, they were a bit pricey since they were about the size of a basketball.

Leona let out a sigh of frustration. How were they suppose to get that many lacrima in such a small time?! They had to make a circle that can encompass roughly two miles worth of the lair. Thinking about the items in her requip space, any lacrima items she did have already had a purpose, like her communication earrings.

"We might have to scratch that plan. Good idea but there's no way we ca-" Leona cut herself off. Wasn't a lacrima basically a magically infused crystal? Some crystals are created in nature, such as quartz or gypsum. It's a stretch and it definitely won't be perfect but it was something.

"Can what?"

"I have an idea. If it works, we can get started." Leona grinned brightly as she stood up and made her way to the river. Curiosity filled the dragon slayer. He stood up as well and walked to be a few feet away from the paladin. One minute she was saying the plan needed to be scrapped and the next she's saying that it might work.

Walking into the water, Leona bent over to examine the rocks residing in the river. She would probably need to call the one she's specifically looking for and then enhance them in order for this to work. Shouldn't be a hard thing to do. She just had to manipulate the earth and water to get this to work. Standing up straight, she raised her left hand up.

"Requip Divinity: Wildmother's Embrace!"

Laxus had to cover his eyes quickly with his hands from the bright light emitting from Leona. When the light disappeared, it was like another woman stood in front of him. Her silver hair fell from its braid and flowed down into a auburn red color. The feathers from her hair laid on the floor while a druidic antler circlet with flowers proudly laid on her head. Her silver and gold armor was changed into a flowing off the shoulder sleeve green dress with a brown leather corset. A mantle of dark green leather rested on her shoulders that unfurled a cloak of autumn-colored leaves. The greaves on her hands changed into leather gloves while the boots were replaced with thigh high leather boots. In her left hand rested a shepherd's crook with vines and leaves running up and down the stick and a blue stone resting in the middle of the curve of the crook. The only things that basically stayed the same was her lotus scent, which smelt more earthy than before, and her bright sapphire eyes.

Raising her glowing right hand out with the palm facing downward, the water in the river began to ripple as the rocks below rumbled and shook violently. The blue stone in the crook glowed just as brightly as her hand. The river continued to vibrate and glow as Laxus looked on in awe. Elemental magic itself was difficult to manipulate, something he learned before getting his lacrima. Each element had a different style and method on how to harness and control it in order to condense it into spells. To his knowledge, dual elemental wielders were rare but they typically used elements relating to one another, like water and ice. Leona was manipulating both the earth and water with no issue. Laxus knew that this form allowed her to essential manipulate nature, but as the saying goes 'seeing is believing'.

The rumbling rocks were forming into a large jagged sphere underneath the water in the river. From the ripples in the water, it looking like there was pressure being put onto the rock sphere. A few minutes later, Leona raised her glowing hand up with the rock sphere following her movements. Turning around, the smirking paladin manipulated the rocks to rest in front of Laxus' chest.

"Take it." Looking at her with a questioning gaze, he raised his hands up to hold the rock ball. It was slightly bigger than a volleyball but smaller than a basketball. Leona's hand and staff stopped glowing, releasing the full weight of the rock in Laxus' hands. Not expecting the sudden weight, the slayer almost dropped it, earning a snicker from Leona.

"Ha ha, very funny." Laxus said deadpanned. "What am I supposed to do with this?

"It was funny to me." The smirk never leaving her face. "Why don't you try opening it big guy?"

This earned her a raised eyebrow, as if asking 'Are you serious? You don't think I can break it? These muscle aren't for show.' Deciding to humor the snickering woman, Laxus spread his legs to get into a small stance before applying force with both his hands to the rock. Like he expected, the rock crumbled between his hands. Easy. What he didn't expect was the item that remained in the rocks place. In his hands was a deep purple-blue crystal sphere that emitted a pulse of magical energy.

"Did you just make a lacrima out of rocks and water?" This in turned earned him a deadpanned look from Leona.

"If you want to put it like that, then yes I did." She modeled the crystal sphere similar to the lacrima spheres sold by vendors. "It's more like a pseudo lacrima. Try it out and see if it works the same."

Following her directions, Laxus slowly began to fill the 'pseudo' lacrima that Leona created through the earth. The crystal sphere glowed a bright purple and yellow hue as more electricity was concentrated into the orb. Soon enough, a lightning bolt was jolting inside the orb. Unlike the lacrima he used before, he did not apply the body link magic to this one so it lacked the iron band around it. Rotating the sphere, the orb had remained smooth with no cracking from the magical pressure he applied. When he used the Thunder Palace last time, several lacrima bursted due to it being unable to handle the amount of energy being put out.

"Amazing. It's holding the same amount of energy yet is smaller than the one I used before. How did you do it?" The smirking paladin shifted her weight and leaned on her crook.

"Lacrima is basically a magical crystalline substance. Crystals come in different forms and many of them naturally form in nature. One of them is quartz." Leona gestured towards the river. "Using my powers, I called forth quartz-bearing rocks from beneath the earth and used the water to weather and erode the stone before fusing them into a sphere shape. I then infused it with a little nature magic to mimic the magical properties of a lacrima."

He would be lying if he didnt say he was impressed. It was a decent replacement for a real lacrima. Channeling some static electricity on the orb, it started to rise in the air. He was still able to create an electromagnetic chain to stabilize the orb in the air. The true test to see if this orb could do the job was if he could link two orbs and set them off in the air.

"Make two more. If this ends up work, we're going to need a lot more. How much energy does it take for you to make it?"

* * *

It didn't take long before the two mages fell into a pattern of creation and infusion. Leona was able to replicate the process over and over. The energy required to make one pseudo lacrima wasn't much, however the further down the quartz-bearing rocks were, the more energy Leona has to expend. The size of the chucks also played a factor in how much more energy she needs to use to fuse, weather, and erode them into a perfect sphere. This also required concentration on her part because if she weathered or eroded them too much or too little, the quality of the quartz would suffer and in result, unuseable. Another thing she had to be careful in was the amount of nature magic placed in the sphere. Too much would cause the property of the pseudo lacrima to change.

Laxus on the other hand was able to test the connection and absorbent energy collected and expelled from the orbs. He was also able to test the distance between two pseudo lacrima and decided that roughly three hundred of the pseudo lacrima was suitable to cover roughly two miles worth. However, in order to account for human error, though he doubt there would be any since he was the one setting it up, three hundred and fifty to be on the safe side. The amount of energy he spent infusing the pseudo lacrima took a good portion of his magical energy, considering how much damage they cause once activated. He had decided not to enchant them with body link magic since it would require more days to ensure all lacrima were filled and enchanted.

For three hours, the slayer and paladin continued their work in silence. Laxus had left earlier to get them some kind of lunch from the town so they could continue to work. Leona sat on the river bank with her boot free feet wadding in the water while her hand was outstretched over the water making quartz spheres before floating them over to the ever growing pile next to Laxus. Laxus sat with his back leaning on the willow tree. To his left was a pile of pseudo lacrima for him to fill while on his right was a pile of magically infused ones. Currently, there was more to fill than already filled and he was getting tired and silence was honestly killing him. Her comment earlier really did bug him and he wanted to talk to her about it. The way she brushed away his apology like he didn't mean it.

The lightning dragon slayer knew what it feels like to do anything for power, only to realize that it the outcome was not worth what he gave up. It wasn't equivalent exchange and he was paying the price for it now. God was he paying for it.

That's probably why Laxus reacted the way he did. From his perspective, it sounded like she had sold her soul and given up her freedom for this strange, foreign power. Jumping to conclusion and fueled with pent up energy from her previous accusations, he voiced his absolutely unwarranted and unnecessary concerns. It wasn't his place to even say anything to her or judge her actions, especially since they just met the day before. Leona could have given him a simple answer or not even given him anything. Instead, she was opening up about her culture essentially and he just basically spat it back in her face with his unjustified response. If he had just waited and listened, he would have known that she was anything but power hungry.

He tried apologizing. He really did, explaining the reason why he reacted in such a way. But it wasn't enough. A moment of vulnerability for a sorry wasn't equivalent. No. He knew what to do but the question was how much was he willing to share.

"Leona." The paladin slightly turned her head to the right, indicating that dragon slayer had her attention despite her back being turned.

"Something has been bugging me for the past few hours. Hear me out?" The woman didn't respond verbally, adjusting her position to face him. While her face didn't show emotion, it was her eyes that twinkled in curiosity. Taking this as a sign to continue speaking, Laxus took in a breath before talking.

"I meant what I said earlier when I apologized about insulting you and your traditions. You went out of your way explaining things that I asked about and I should have shut my mouth and waited until you finished. You kept going on despite my big, fat mouth." Laxus turned his gaze elsewhere, anywhere else, to avoid those piercing eyes. Shit, this is really fucking hard.

"My past isn't something I really want to talk about but, you need to know why I reacted in such a way." He felt that rumble from earlier rest in his chest. "I was always a sick kid and my shitty dad would just yell at me for being weak. To him, being strong and having power was all that was important and being sick all the time didn't make him any happier. For so long, he ingrained his beliefs onto me and me, being a stupid and wanting to please him, took up those beliefs." Breath in, breath out.

"I pushed myself to be the best mage at the guild and did horrible, shitty things to a lot of people. Especially to the people I was suppose to view as family. I was arrogant and cocky, thinking that I was above everyone in the guild. I thought that I could make the guild just as strong as me so we wouldn't be a laughing stock anymore. All I wanted was for us to be the best guild in all of Fiore." Laxus rubbed his face in frustration.

"I was angry and frustrated that no one was taking it as serious as me so I did what I thought at the time was a good things- a battle royale that would weed out the weak from the guild. It didn't work out as I planned. Power corrupts. I learned my lesson too late and I'm paying for it still. When I heard you talk about your abilities, something in me just reacted." Words were starting to fail him. He wasn't even sure if what he wanted to say was coming out right. He wasn't even sure why he was talking so much. Hell, even the Thunder Legion didn't know half the shit he just said! There was just too much that he was going on in his mind and nothing was stopping. Too many whispers, too many flashes, too many memories, too many feelings. Everything was spiralling

"Shhh. Hush my dear lumiere. Calm your tears and steady your breath." An unknown soothing, ethereal voice echoed in his ears. Not recognizing the voice, Laxus quickly snapped out of what could be technically be described as a panic attack. Standing in front of him was Leona however there was something different about her. At some point during his internal struggle, Leona had dropped her requip and knelt down in front of the slayer. Her hands, void of the metal gauntlets she typically wore, reached out to wrap his own in hers and glowed a bright gold glow. The golden glow engulfed her whole body, rimming the sapphire blue eyes he had been enchanted with. Her silver hair was free from her usual braid and floating in the wind. The most puzzling thing was the enigmatic smile gracing her face and the gold glowing wisps flowing from her back.

"My, look at you mon petite lumiere. So full of confusion and doubt, which I must admit that it is my fault that those emotions are surging. When I first appear to many without divinity energy, it can cause an emotional shock to the body. C'est ma faute. My apologies." Her hands gave a squeeze to his. "I just wanted to talk to you for awhile now but it is difficult to manifest on the material plane in a land devoid of any of my holy symbols."

"Who are you? What did you do to Leona?" He should be panicking, on the defensive. This entity had just admitted to messing with his emotions and on top of that was clearly possessing Leona at the moment. However, despite his misgivings to the situation, there was a calming and soothing aura flowing through his entire body.

"I did nothing to ma soleil. She had noticed my hovering only a while ago during your work and allowed me access in order to speak with you. I've hovered before in observation but could never get your attention." The enigmatic smile on Leona's face grew a little wider. "Mon lumiere, you have suffered so much but you have grown as well. Only now have you truly begun to walk the path of forgiveness and redemption. There will be good and bad days but as long as you walk this path of light, you will never be alone." One of her hands left his own to caress his cheek.

"Stay with ma soleil and you'll never have to walk alone again. It will be good for the both you and her. Now I must depart. She does not have enough energy to hold me here any longer and there are things I must attend. When we next meet, perhaps I shall grant you a gift mon petite lumiere." She leaned forward, now holding both his cheeks, and kissed his forehead. A blush immediately flushed his cheeks before he pushed her away, causing the entity to laugh. The gold glow began to fade away from Leona's body.

"Wait! You never answered my question. Who are you?" The glow diminished until only Leona's eyes remained gold.

"I am known as the Everlight. I am also called the Dawnflower, but to those who seek the path of redemption, I am Sarenrae." That smile was starting to annoy him. Before he could ask her another question, the glow completely left Leona's body causing her whole body to collapse.

"H-hey!" Laxus was reached out to grab her before she face-planted. After a few moments of silence, Leona let out a painful groan.

"I really hate doing that sometimes." Her head was absolutely throbbing. Reaching up to try and relieve the pain, Leona realized that she was leaning on something warm. Looking up, she sees a red faced dragon slayer. She tried to stand in order to put some space between the two but immediately fell back onto the floor onto the slayer once more.

"I- I might need a few minutes before I can move." With the majority of her magic being depleted while creating the pseudo lacrima, Leona wasn't expecting the sudden appearance of Sarenrae and her request to speak with Laxus. Sustaining the deity in the material plane would be easy if she hadn't used up the majority of her magic.

"It's fine." Not really. "Does this happen often?"

"Sometimes. It depends on the situation usually. I act as a conduit of the gods and goddesses when they cannot manifest in the material world, however, they are only allowed to do so when I consent to the possession."

"So without consent, they can't do what Sarenrae just did." At the name of the Everlight, Leona raised her head from his chest to look at him.

"She gave you her name?" This got an eyebrow raise from Laxus.

"Uh, yeah? Couldn't you hear us talking?" The paladin shook her head.

"No. It gets really hazy when they do that, hence the throbbing headache and shaky knees. Oh, and it doesn't help that they are ten times worse since I was low on magic." Laxus gave the woman leaning on his chest a deadpanned look.

"Let's put the claws away Kitten. What's the big deal about telling me her name? She called herself the Everlight and the Dawnflower if that means anything."

"Well Sparky, most gods and goddesses don't go around personally giving mortals their true name unless they are devout followers. Typically, they just use their titles, like the Wildmother or the Storm Lord. In your case, Sarenrae's titles are the Everlight and the Dawnflower." Was this how Xayah felt when she was teaching her? Next time she sees her, Leona was definitely going to apologize for being a little shit. Actually, she probably owes Laxus one now with her snapping.

"But why appear before me?" That's one of the most important question Laxus wanted to ask the deity. The man had done nothing but ask questions since meeting the paladin and he had more questions than answers now. He was now talking to the mental manifestation of his consciousness, probably, but he'll figure that out later, and meeting fucking gods (or in this case a goddess). On top of that, he was an emotional wreck now (also partly the fault of said goddess through her own admission). Maybe he was finally crashing. Running on empty fuel. Before his thoughts could go any further, Leona's voice cut through the fog.

"From what I can gather from your confession before she took over, you did something bad, almost unforgivable, to your guild. You've been cruel and heartless in your actions and only now have you recognized the harm it caused. That guilt is slowly destroying you." Her words sounded harsh but turned soft and gentle. "It is your ability to recognize your wrong doings and willingness to change that attracted her to you. Did she tell you what she was a goddess of?"

Seeing the slayer shake his head in a 'no', Leona released a small sign, letting a small smile peak from her lips as she reaches out to hold one of his shoulders.

"Sarenrae is the goddess of redemption, healing, and temperance. She believes that everyone, especially those corrupted, can be redeemed and searches for souls that need a little push in the right direction. The problem is that Sarenrae is a minor deity and her domains overlap with more influential deities in Ishgar, like the Dawnfather. Most of her followers were wiped out years ago during the Dragon King festival and any followers that are around now are small and private. Because of this, it is extremely difficult for her to reach out through the material plane to help those seeking redemption. She mostly works behind the curtains in order to help however possible. On the rare occasion, she is able to communicate through dreams. Fiore has been a difficult location for many deities because of the lack of belief. "

"She reached out to you for a reason. Sarenrae sees something special in you if she wanted to use me as a conduit. Whatever she said to you, I would listen to her words and follow her instructions. I have never seen her steer someone in the wrong direction, especially when seeking forgiveness and redemption. So hold your head high dragon slayer and let's go save people and kick some asses."

Stormy green-blue eyes met clear sapphire. Whatever inner struggle he was feeling and worrying over felt smaller and smaller with each word she spoke. It was like wave of clarity breaking through a fog of uncertainty. Taking a deep breath in and then out, Laxus felt his mind more calm and relaxed for the first time since his banishment.

"Guess you can make sense sometimes, Dollface." Leona puffed her cheeks up in annoyance at the new (unnecessary) nickname. "Never heard you curse before either."

"Maybe you're just a bad influence on me. Ever think about that Muscles?"

"Heard that one before Short Stuff. Try harder Cub."

"Thunderdolt."

"Ankle bitter."

"Dragon breath."

"Pala-nut."

"Bolt for brains!"

Yeah, he could push through and persevere. There was a mission at hand and as a S-class Fairy Tail wizard, exiled or not, he would not fail.

* * *

 **Translations**

 **C'est ma faute- It's my fault**

 **Lumiere- Light**

 **Soleil- Sun**

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read, favorite, and followed this story! I wasn't really happy with how this chapter turned out but beggars can't be choosers. Would love to hear some feedback from you darlings!

Shout outs to Savage Kill, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, and Guest for reviewing for the past two chapters:)


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